Abstract
In Cape Town we have been experiencing the most severe drought in our history. We are not alone.Other cities – for example, in the United States, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, Australia, Morocco andPakistan – are also learning to live under new, more extreme, drought conditions. In this article Iuse the local drought as an aperture through which to identify key insights into how adult learningand education (ALE) can and should respond in times of climate crisis. The article is exploratory, asthe ambitious topic opens up a raft of complex economic, socio-ecological and political issueswhich can only be touched upon. It aims to prompt deeper conversations about ALE and climatecrises and to identify key questions for future ALE research.
Highlights
Ground Zero stares the citizens of Cape Town in the face
The importance of finding a common language is well illustrated by the regular surveys by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UILL)
A young mother in Bangladesh is learning about nutrition for her child; a school teacher is upgrading her skills with the latest computer software; a man who has been laid off from his job as a labourer is learning plumbing skills; a community is living through a drought and is learning new farming methods; peace committees have been formed in conflict zones and they are learning about non-violent ways of organising; younger and older adults are learning to be entrepreneurs so they can make a living; women are speaking up and out against violence; young people and adults who did not finish school are enrolled in ‘second-chance’ programmes; and so the list goes on
Summary
In Cape Town we have been experiencing the most severe drought in our history. We are not alone. In this article I use the local drought as an aperture through which to identify key insights into how adult learning and education (ALE) can and should respond in times of climate crisis. The article is exploratory, as the ambitious topic opens up a raft of complex economic, socio-ecological and political issues which can only be touched upon. It aims to prompt deeper conversations about ALE and climate crises and to identify key questions for future ALE research. KEYWORDS adult learning and education (ALE); climate crisis; fake news; popular education; lifelong learning. ‘The drought is my teacher’: Adult learning and education in times of climate crisis – S Walters
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